When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases—Luke 9:1

            Dominion is the power and authority to govern and control. It is not enough to simply have the power to control if you do not have the right. For instance—let’s take a thief as an example. A thief may have power to rob someone, but he does not have the right to do it. On the other hand, a person may have the right to govern, but if he does not have the power to do it, then he does not have dominion.

            Jesus gave the church both the power and authority to drive out demons and cure diseases. The Greek word power is dunamis and the Greek word authority is exousis. Dunamis is where we get our word dynamite. Dynamite is “power”. Exousis on the other hand means “the right” as in within your rights. We do not simply have the authority to heal and drive out demons, but we have the power to do it. This is why Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for power. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8). The purpose of giving us power is so that we can walk in our rights.

            I am amazed at the lack of understanding and revelation the body of Christ has concerning the dominion of the believer. Many sincere believers live their whole lives without knowing they have been given dominion. The result is a powerless, defeated church. They talk about how God is in control, but they lack any evidence to prove it. The essential message of the Bible is "dominion". The opposite message many in the church convey is an "ultra sovereignty" view of God. Let me explain.

            The dominion of the believer is the biblical concept that the believer controls his destiny through faith. However, the ultra sovereignty view is the traditional view that the believer’s destiny is controlled by fate. You hear people with the latter view say when facing a tragedy, “Well, we do not understand why this happened, but we must recognize God is in control. This terrible thing happened for a reason.”

            However, tragedy is not a sign of God’s sovereignty but a sign of the devil’s works. Those like ourselves who believe in the dominion of the believer recognize that God intends to rule through us, not apart from us. It is our faith in the Word of God which changes our destiny.

            Some may object and say, “But pastor, God is in control. We are not. Our faith does not control God. He does what he wants, with or without our faith.” Those who think like this miss a very subtle, yet important truth—God works through our faith! And by working through our faith, God shows Himself to be in control.

Dominion and God's Sovereignty

            Look at the following passage—it connects both the biblical concept of God’s sovereignty and the believer’s dominion:

"'The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men’ (Dan 4:17).

            How does God show He is sovereign? He does it when His decision is announced by messengers and when the holy ones declare the verdict. God works through the announcements and declarations of His people. If God’s messengers would not have announced God’s verdict in this case, then God’s power would not have been released to cause the results He intended. Yet, many people suppose God’s sovereignty will be released apart from the announcements we make. But this is not true. God uses our words to rule the world.

You Get What you Say

            If you do not like the life you are living, it is because you are speaking words contrary to what God says. He says you are blessed, healed, victorious, and a world over comer, but you are confessing, “Nothing ever works out for me; I wonder why God hasn’t healed me; why do I seem so defeated; why can’t I overcome this problem?”  Your words stop God’s announcements of your victory in Christ. You shut Him out from ruling in your life.

            Again some people have heard so much criticism on positive confession that they honestly think by confessing God’s Word we are trying to twist God’s arm into giving us what we want. This is so far from what we are teaching. The fact is, when you do not confess God’s Word, you keep Him out of your life. You stop His power from working in you. The confession of God’s Word is God’s means of ruling in you. Confession of the Word makes Jesus Lord of your life. It is not a means to make God submit to us!

Sheriff and Deputy

            Let me illustrate it this way. A sheriff deputizes as many people as he needs in order to rule the county. Suppose all of his deputies decide not to use the power and authority the sheriff gave them, but instead expected the sheriff to personally rule over every situation. They make no arrest; they handcuff no one—because they do not want to twist the sheriff’s arm. They want the sheriff to be in charge. What would happen? Would the sheriff be happy? Of course not, in fact, the sheriff will look powerless over the county he was elected to serve.

            This is how God looks when we do not use the power and authority He gave us over demons and sicknesses. We claim to be waiting for God to personally rule, but He intended us to take His power and authority to rule. By us neglecting to rule and enforce the Word of God over our circumstances, then we make God to look puny and powerless. He does not look sovereign in those cases. God has made us His deputies and it is up to us to rule for Him.

Realms of Jesus' Dominion

            Jesus set the pattern for us to rule. He said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). The believer can do the miracles Jesus did—and even greater than those seen through Him. Since Jesus gave us His power and authority, we simply have to look at what areas He showed dominion over.

            Jesus showed dominion over:

1. Nature (see Mark 4:39)


2. Sickness and diseases (see Mark 2:10-12)


3. Evil spirits (see Mark 1:23-27)


4. Death (see Luke 7:12-15)


5. Poverty (see Matt 14:16-20)


6. Temptation (see Heb 4:15)


7. Sin (see Mark 2:10)

            When you get a revelation of Jesus dominion you will recognize your own dominion. You will not tolerated natural calamites from overtaking you. You will not put up with sickness and disease. You will drive out evil spirits. You will expect to live a long life. You will not worry over lack. You will resist temptation. You will not let the enemy condemn you for your past sins. This is dominion. Have you been allowing these things in your life? Then take a stand against them.

            Someone may say, “But how do I exercise my dominion.” It is easy! You exercise dominion through your words! That’s right! You reign by speaking the word of God over your situation. Look at how Jesus ruled. He exercised dominion through words!

            He spoke to the winds and waves, “Quiet! Be still!” And the storm obeyed Him. He said to the sick, “Be healed.” And His Word cured them. He used only His word to drive out demons and this shocked the people of His day, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him” (Mark 1:27). They were not use to seeing exorcists use only their words; they were accustomed to elaborate exorcism rituals. But not Jesus; His word was sufficient. When it came to death, He did not use mouth to mouth resuscitation, but simply spoke, “I say unto you, get up.” And the dead listened. When the people were in need of food, He simply spoke a blessing and His blessing multiplied the loaves and fishes. How did He overcome temptation? Simply by saying to the devil, “It is written.” His word caused Satan to flee. And when He saw a sinner condemned and sick He said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” His words calmed the fears of the sinner. It gave him hope. Then he was healed.

            I’m showing you how the Lord exercised His dominion. He did it through words.

            The same will have to be true for you. If you want God’s power in your life, then you must be led by the Spirit and let the Spirit warm the Word of God in your heart like a baker bakes bread. And when the word is real in your heart, you will be able to boldly confess who you are in Christ, what you can do through Him and what you have because of Him.